U.S. Budget Gap Widens 21% in First 10 Months of Fiscal Year

July budget deficit $77 billion, up 79% from year earlier

WASHINGTON—The U.S. government’s budget deficit widened in the first 10 months of the fiscal year when compared with the same period a year earlier.

The deficit, or the difference between the amount of money the federal government spent and what it took in, totaled $684 billion in October through July, the Treasury Department said Friday. That was 21% more than the deficit of $566 billion during the same period a year earlier.